Forever Night
by Lavenderpaw
Summary: Toothless was brought into this world to fight.


Mountains rose like spires around a quiet, seemingly empty island. The stone  
floors were cold and bare of any growth or vegetation. Open pits of black liquid  
unsafe to drink lined the ground in an irregular circle while wind swept  
fragments of dirt and furling pieces of dead scales around. At the edge of one  
of these particular projectiles was a black creature.

She pulled herself from the shadows of a higher rocky rise and slithered over  
on her belly towards a thick, off-white egg that she hadn't remembered seeing  
the other day. With her prominent front body and long, cactus-shaped legs, the  
young female dragon easily stood as a hulking presence over the ovate object.  
She lowered her small nostrils to it's side and inhaled deeply to take in it's  
scent. Her jade eyes dilated and she released a big, loud purr.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

With one crooked talon, the dragon reached over to touch the motionless egg  
when all of a sudden it gave a little jolt. This made her reel back as her  
un-hatched offspring began to wheel its way around sporadically. The egg moved  
in dizzying patterns that she saw were familiar formations of her own kind. She  
followed it with intent awe as it began pulsating a rich blue color and kept  
propelling itself around her like it was trying to escape; but the nearness that  
it moved towards the rock spire's edge made her gasp and whip her tail out.

The dragon made a whining noise and felt tension peak in her brawny chest as  
the rolling egg hit her svelte appendage like a speed freak. Yet although the  
speed of her little roller did not decrease, it made a safe turnabout and began  
scaling up her protrusion - free back.

She let out a relieved murmur and shifted the feather-light weight of the egg  
by shrugging her shoulders one at a time. As it rolled harmlessly to the rocked  
floor, the odd blue glow residing within it began resonating with a firm,  
deliberate rhythm. Beat… Beat… B-e-a-t! This caused the would - be  
mother to back away. With a few more piercing throbs of life beating forcefully  
inside it, a pair of azure eyes snapped open. The dragon hovered closeby as the  
egg started to rock and shake with more ferocity until big cracks formed around  
it's surface.

She released a worried whine.

"Ah!" the sound came in a loud, complaining squawk from the egg.

PWith the blue light misting against the inside like the release of an  
animal's wintry breath, a small black foot suddenly kicked up near the top. This  
caused the dragon to move away once more in shock - she hadn't been more then a  
hatchling when she had seen this happening.../P  
PThe side of the upturned egg was given another forceful kick and a second  
foot poked it's way out. A low, grunting coo admitted from the shelled creature  
as it relaxed and allowed it's outer wall to fall carelessly to the ground. The  
mother-to-be started to near it; curious./P  
P"Uh?" She questioned gently./P  
P"UUUhhh!" the child hollered as a great mass of blue built at the top of the  
egg's insides and caused it to turn upright. With deep, throat-contained  
radiance, the baby dragon was able to release a burst of bright blue energy up  
at the egg's top and send it spinning overhead./P  
PThis caused the mother dragon to gasp happily./P  
PBefore she could see her baby, however, the top came right back down and  
landed on the child's head. Giving a more assured murmur, she stepped over to  
the infant dragon and let her paw instinctively push up on the yolk-drenched top  
to catch a first glimpse. The eyes of the dragon were sealed shut as it's tiny  
slit nostrils opened and closed quickly to take it's first few breaths. She  
waited patiently as the youngster's breathing evened out just right. When this  
happened, she carefully lowered her claw point and picked at it's glued  
eyelids./P  
P"Mm!"/P  
P"Mm." The dragon mimicked and then gave a rumbling chuckle./P  
P"Mm…" it squeaked precociously this time as a pair of green eyes popped  
open./P  
PShe tried to move the child towards her but it ducked under her touch.  
Surprised and a tad alarmed, the dragon tried again to reach out this time with  
her other paw. It deftly avoided her again and this time developed a  
crisscrossing pattern to it's steps so as to sidestep her every time she would  
make a movement over to it. Frustrated, the dragon kept attempting to get to her  
child until she was finally forced to try pouncing on it - proving to be a  
futile mistake. The dragon hung her head in defeat and started away when she  
heard squawking./P  
P"Ah!"/P  
PHe looked at her with wide, jade eyes as she turned to face him./P  
P"Ah?" her baby squawked unsurely./P  
P"Ah." She smiled a large, gummed smile from ear flap to ear flap./P  
PThe infant dragon smiled back and a single, front tooth popped down from his  
upper jaw. This made him squeal in delight and he hurried over to join his  
mother. She, on the other hand, shouldered around so that her back was to him.  
He blinked in confusion and tried to wobble over to the front of his mother.  
Again, she turned away and slipped a smug-faced look down at him. His slit  
nostrils flickered in a flare and he started to growl in agitation./P  
PA pressure of blue energy started to build in his throat, causing his mother  
to abandon her charade and scoop him up in her arms. He sniffed a few times,  
shook his round little head and then hiccupped. His mother pulled her own head  
back in surprise and then brought it forward again only to be startled back by  
the infant dragon's abrupt second hiccup which caused him to bounce out of her  
hold. She gasped but then stared with amazement as her son hiccupped frequently  
enough to keep him from falling. "EMHic. Hic. Hic/EM." He spouted./P  
PPlumes of blue popped out of his mouth until finally he ran out./P  
P"Mm?" His mother asked as he landed back in her paws./P  
P"Mm!" He said happily and flashed a smile - his teeth switched out  
automatically./P  
PShe smiled back - hers switching out as well./P  
PThey looked at one another lovingly and started to nuzzle. The mother dragon  
sat her son on her tail and lifted one of her enormous wings to look at. He  
watched as she fanned out the big leathery appendage, her face appeared as a  
light shadow across it. Where it paused was where a small rip in the wing  
started. She gently raised him up to where her big green eye could peer through  
at him. The little dragon grinned and ducked his head as she let an upper tooth  
slide through the hole. His fascination showed as she stripped a piece of dead  
grass from between a crevice in the ground and wound it around the tooth right  
over him./P  
P"Ah." He said in wonder as she sewed the rip closed with her long  
incisor./P  
PShe smiled as she lifted her wing down and watched as he discovered his own  
wings./P  
P"Huh…?" He vocalized./P  
P"Mm." His mother encouraged. With him still near the top of her tail and her  
latest work done to one of many rips along her wings, she trotted casually back  
over to the cliff side./P  
PHer son glanced up at her curiously as she slipped him up in her wings and  
gently placed him on the ground beside her. Nervousness entered his wide eyes  
and he peered over the edge slowly. The adult dragon gave a warning noise and  
scooted him back away from it./P  
PShe then reprimanded him before showing him the different angles his wings  
and vanes had to been in. The vanes under his wings were like gear shifts that  
controlled his speed, the rudders on the back of his tail helped to control  
which direction he would take while his wings - she emphasized - should always  
be ready when the winds became too heavy. He gave her questioning look at that  
and experienced a harmless whack of her large tail…/P  
PThat sent him right off the very cliff she had just told him not to go  
near./P  
PThe mother dragon crouched down onto the stoned floor until her soft  
underbelly touched it, arched her slendor back and snapped open her green eyes  
with a start. With a grand explosion of wings, she reared herself upward and  
dive bombed off of the cliff. The dragon child wailed in panic and reached for  
her as she steered directly towards him. As the two both aligned, she began to  
twirl slowly around him until he followed her very movement./P  
PHis eyes became enraptured on his mother's winged waltz, not even minding as  
her paws curled around him or as the thrust of wind jerked against her back.  
They were catapulted up into the air like a launched missile, gaining speed with  
each altitude the adult dragon reached. Her baby curled into her steel-tough  
chest and listened as her heart pounded at irregular beats. He began to whine as  
they were swallowed into a large swath of clouds./P  
P"Mm!"/P  
PShe held on tightly to him as she ducked her head, curled it down and then  
stretched her long black neck out. The infant dragon glimpsed up at his mother  
only to see a thin piece of black flesh - thinner and more transparent then her  
wings - slide over her piercing light green eye. His breath caught in his throat  
as a lavender glow emitted to life behind it and made her eye roll forward to  
concentrate solely on their ascent; he squawked out for her./P  
PHe whined for her and cried for her./P  
PBut she only continued to rise into the thickening clouds that began to turn  
an eerie gray./P  
P"Mm…" She purred thoughtfully./P  
PThe dragon soared to a stop as her baby cuddled into her chest. All was still  
and calm for a moment as the two spun slowly in the air. The young mother kept  
her luminous gaze on the mists of gray and white above. She breathed in slow,  
halting breaths as she gradually picked up speed in her spinning. Going around  
and around, the sky began darkening to an ominous overcast. In perfect dips and  
turns the dragoness performed a fantastic, though increasingly fast set of  
aerobatics. She rose her baby above her head to let him take in the sheer thrill  
of the motion; and he in turn fought to enjoy this first experience. Now, even  
as the wind stewed the black clouds into a brooding brew and thunder pounded  
overhead./P  
PEven as he could feel his mother's pulse racing in the paws that held him and  
even as he could feel his own eyes slipping over with the fleshy, see-through  
flap, the black dragon baby was happy. He threw up his tiny paws to the sky and  
allowed the elements to come to him as well. At this point the dragon was moving  
as fast as an erratic weathervane that was signaling the approach of a storm.  
Suddenly, though, she started to slow her twirling./P  
P"Mm?" The child asked her./P  
PWhen his mother looked down at him, their were tears moistening her refocused  
eyes. The two moved in a gentle motion as thunder tried to rock the tranquility  
of their private time. She smiled slightly as he tried pressing closer to her at  
the explosive sound. Releasing an almost resigned sigh, the dragon pried him  
from her chest and moved him up to where he could experience another clap of  
thunder. He squealed in fear and dove right back for her./P  
POutside figures with soft, orange bodies and muted white eyes watched them  
like lost souls in search of contact. The baby dragon tried to hide his face  
from them, but his mother gently coaxed her son towards one in particular. He  
rose a timid paw out as the form of a dragon appeared inside of the clouds. As  
the misty limb of the figure extended out to him, all the other forms seemed to  
congregate closer in a group. His green eyes stayed transfixed now with the  
figure's, but right before they made contact his mother's paw overlapped his. At  
this gesture the dragon figures of dim orange made low, threatening growls at  
her quick actions./P  
PShe met the eyes on the one in front of her and her son and whined a  
plea./P  
PThe figure blinked and accepted her paw instead./P  
PHer baby squawked and protested loudly as she melded into the clouds  
surrounding them./P  
PEven as he tried reaching for her now, his mother's now once again lit lilac  
eyes remained focused ahead of him. The dragon wailed louder then he ever had as  
an aura of light went to engulf him and he was shot unwillingly down like a  
blazing meteor through the torrents./P  
PWhen he opened his eyes again - after the sparks of light purple had sizzled  
down and had all but sizzled out - he found that he was completely by himself.  
The baby dragon raised his inquiring eyes to the sky as thunder clashed and  
forced him to cover his tiny body just as a heavy rain began pouring down upon  
him. He trembled and tried clutching at himself to keep warm as the drenching  
onset changed into raging flood waters... and caused him to hiccup./P  
P"EMHic. Hic. Hic."/EM/P  
PAs another clap of loud, bombarding thunder made the shaking dragon curl up  
into a ball, he heard a sort of zip in the air and the smell that met his slit  
nostrils was enticing enough to him to cause him to raise his head in awe.  
Another zip came and a sudden, unnerving bolt of blue light caused him to toss a  
blue source of power of his own from his open gummed jaws./P  
PAnd has this happened, the background behind the baby dragon that had been  
shrouded in darkness suddenly lit up at the flash of lightening. It reached the  
deepest crevices and let a great light reach the deadened gray rocks - lighting  
up piles of skeletons and empty shells


End file.
